OXOBrew 8-Cup Coffee Maker - Single-Serve & Carafe, Thermal Stainless Steel, SCA Certified

In an effort to find the perfect cup of coffee, I decided to retire my Cuisinart Grind & Brew 10-Cup Coffee Maker and buy the OXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker. I really liked my Cuisinart; it’s been a workhorse for many years. I stopped using the built in grinder, it's terrible, moisture gets into the grinder, clogs it up and it’s a disaster. This time around I bought a separate grinder, an OXO and I’ll review that later.I did the research, read reviews and watched videos; the OXO seemed like a great product, its SCA certified and priced well. Of course, $200.00 is at the high end but my old Cuisinart was at the high end too.Out of the box the OXO is perfect; it’s a great looking machine, well made and easy to use. I read all the set-up instructions and was ready to brew. I wanted to do a side-by-side comparison, so I set up my Cuisinart and the OXO to brew a 4-cup pot using the same coffee to water ratios. Here’s what I found:Set-up both were the same, very easy but notice the OXO pot dribbled a lot when pouring water into the reservoir. I’d recommend buying a small pitcher just to full the reservoir.Brew times were drastically different. The OXO was 4.30 minutes and the Cuisinart 6.17. Not a huge deal considering if you really need a cup of coffee in a hurry both pots can be removed while brewing but both emit a few drops of coffee when the carafe is removed.The big difference was the temperature and taste. The Cuisinart brewed a warm cup of coffee, but the OXO brewed a hot cup of coffee. The brew temperature is very important so when I tasted both cups of coffee there was a huge difference. The Cuisinart was good but very bitter; I can’t believe I’ve been drinking bitter for all this time compared to the smooth rich flavor of the OXO brew. I’m guessing the taste had a lot to do with the OXO integrated bloom cycle which allows for optimal flavor extraction, the higher water temperature and the Rainmaker shower head that distributes the water more evenly.Another big difference was the second cup. The OXO remained hot in the pot and tasted as good as the first. Both makers had a significant drop in temperature after the third cup, so I’m not impressed with either thermal carafes.I’d recommend the OXO over the Cuisinart. Neither is perfect but the OXO does make a great tasting cup of coffee.

Warning, this is a critical review. I give this a 5 star because overall product merits an excellent rating. However, if I was to rate this based on value, I rate it a 3 star.I'm not a coffee snob. I like my cheap coffee. I've watched several coffee snob reviews on this product prior to purchase, and this is my take. What the heck is the difference between a $30 drip coffee maker and a $300 drip coffee maker? Well, it's the same difference between a 900watt microwave and a 1400watt microwave. This $300 coffee maker has a higher wattage heating element. Which means it'll heat the water of faster and hotter. Does it make that big of a difference? That's something only a coffee snob can tell you. I'll say this: I can tell the difference. It's not earth shattering, but it does make a difference. Does it make a $200+ difference? Most will say 'no'.So now I move onto rating the coffee maker on overall quality. This is where I get a little more critical. Why? Because it's OXO. I own lots of OXO products and I love them all. I'll be honest and say, this feels more like an OXO product in the making. It's not the user experience I'd expect from OXO. Translation, this misses the mark on being sensational. The insulated carafe is nice, but OXO could have done better. It's a quality carafe, but like some reviewers point out, it leaves about a table spoon or more of liquid when done pouring. It's a minor inconvenience. But ever day use will add up that frustration. Means when you clean the carafe, you'll have that fair amount of water left inside as well. I admit, it is annoying. Very surprised OXO couldn't have designed that better...for $300.The other complain perceived by many is the filter basket. This is my biggest complaint. For $300 and being OXO, this is really were they missed the mark. The basket is flimsy. Not the $300 quality I'd expect. The snap into place operation is clunky. It doesn't just easily slide into place. Little details you'd expect from a brand like OXO are completely missing here. I personally find the selection of 2-4 cup vs 4-8 cup a garbage design. I've used both modes. Makes little to no difference. I recommend using the carafe at all times. The 2-4 cup operation is a waste. And because of that waste, it adds to the frustration of the lacking filter basket design. The sliding lever you use to select 2-4 vs 4-8 doesn't lock into place. That will annoy you. The big difference between 2-4 vs 4-8 is having a choice of which type of filter you want to use. THAT is where OXO could have made a killing on their design. For whatever reason, most expensive coffee makers opt for basket style filters. I personally hate them. They're a pain to use and tedious to fiddle with in the morning. Conical filters are superior in my opinion. It's great that OXO created an option to use conical filters. However, as pointed out their filter basket design is garbage. Not worth using conical filters in the 2-4 cup mode. My advise to OXO, fix this aspect of your coffee maker! The filter basket design will make you crave your Mr. Coffee simplicity. This filter basket will make your $300 coffee maker feel cheaper than a $30 coffee maker. The coffee snob channels will detail how wonderful the filter basket design disperses the water and so on. Garbage observations. Even a $30 coffee maker does the same job.The last complain is so trivial, and yet surprised OXO could have designed this better. Why the two power buttons? You turn on power, then you actually need to select 2-4 vs 4-8 for brewing? Why? Maybe it needs to sense you're boiling less water vs more water. It couldn't have been designed to sense that? The fact that the coffee maker will auto shut off really hammers home the uselessness of having two buttons.Why am I complaining so much right? It's because it's OXO! You expect something different with OXO. You expect great quality and super simple operation. And I admit you don't feel that with this coffee maker. It should have been a one button design from the start. You expect OXO to be innovative. There's nothing innovating in this design. Nothing at all. It's just a quality coffee maker with seemly more complexity in it's cheap filter basket design than what's needed. OXO had a great idea in allowing both conical filters and basket style filters. It's a shame they couldn't have executed on that design better. I personally would prefer conical filters. Especially for an OXO product. Why? Because conical filters are always easer to work with. People buy OXO because they like simple quality and easy. Saying that, they may want to cater their next design to those that prefer conical style filters.I definitely have some criticism for this product. Keep in mind the harsh criticism is do to the $300 price tag and it having the OXO brand. You expect something different from both. Do I recommend buying the product? Oddly yes. I admit in the world of automatic drip coffee makers, no one really rises to the challenge of nailing the perfect design when it comes to quality and simplicity. That surprises me to this day. It's just a coffee maker! I commend OXO for it's styling. To be honest, that's why I bought it. I would have bought the Brawn if it had the better heating element. Overall it's a 5 star compared to competition. A solid 3 star in falling short of OXO expectations.